General Information

Analysing and tackling social issues concerning youth, education and society

In our overscheduled society is there still enough time for childrearing? How do families and childrearing change through the use of social media? How can we tackle polarization in multi-ethnic classrooms? What leads to game addiction and inactivity in our society? How do we make our schools inclusive? What do children need to find their own solutions to bullying at school? How do parenting support programs developed in Western countries fit into non-Western communities? How should the new frameworks for youth care in the Netherlands be structured? What can we learn from foreign approaches to education and youth services?

Innovation in pedagogic services

Do you want to make a contribution to these contemporary social challenges involving the relationship between children and youth and their guardians/educators? Do you want to help draft new policies that can improve the position, welfare and development of children, youth and their parents? Are you interested in making international comparisons? Youth, Education and Society (Dutch: Maatschappelijke opvoedingsvraagstukken) is the only Master’s programme in the Netherlands that specifically focuses on innovating pedagogical policy and practice, both nationally and internationally.

This one-year, intensive programme will teach you about:

the quality of pedagogical and educational services, such as childcare, youth care, schools and sports clubs;

how to look at pedagogy from a social perspective;

the role of cultural diversity in the transfer of pedagogical knowledge;

professional practice in relation to initiatives undertaken by civil society and youth themselves.

Developing an international vision

We will also be looking beyond our borders. After all, global developments (such as globalisation, poverty and migration) have had a major impact on the quality of life for children and youth. And we will also be analysing pedagogical services through an international lens:

What frameworks are used in setting up youth care in the Netherlands compared to countries outside of Europe?

How can the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child be given shape in youth policy worldwide?

This programme also devotes attention to international humanitarian cooperation.

Education driven by research and the work field

This Master’s programme will be led by the professors of Pedagogy, Dr Mariëtte de Haan, Dr Micha de Winter and Dr Paul Leseman. Together with a team of lecturers representing a variety of expertise in the area of pedagogy, they will teach classes and guide students during their internship and research. Contacts with the field constitute an important seedbed for the programme.

See, for example, a report on the current affairs programme Eenvandaag on Wednesday, 21 January 2015 about young Dutch jihadists in which Micha de Winter (pedagogy professor) is asked why we cannot seem to get a handle on these youth in the Netherlands.

Insights into western and non-western childrearing issues

Master's in Youth Studies or Social Childrearing Issues?

This Master’s programme has similarities with the Youth Studies Master’s programme(Dutch: Jeugstudies), but mainly considers children and youth from a childrearing and educational perspective, for example at home, at school or via the media. This Master’s is also distinguished from the Master’s in Youth Studies by its so-called community approach. Alongside attention to the role of professionals, this programme focuses on the role of civil society. Critical analysis of the societal debate also typifies this Master’s programme. You will graduate as an educationalist, while those completing the Youth Studies programme will graduate within Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

Master's in Clinical Child, Family and Education Studies (Orthopedagogy)

This programme somewhat overlaps the Master’s programme in Clinical Child, Family and Education Studies (Dutch:Orthopedagogiek) but is distinguished by a broader, more socially-oriented interdisciplinary view on pedagogy. You will graduate as an educationalist and acquire the NVO registration as a general educationalist. Unlike the programme in Clinical Child, Family and Education Studies, you will not focus on clinical issues, diagnostics or deviant behaviour from a need-based perspective but on pedagogy as a broader field oriented to society. This Master’s is also distinguished from the Master’s in Clinical Child, Family and Education Studies due to its so-called community approach. Alongside a focus on the role of professionals and policy, the programme centres on the role of society in childrearing and education. Critical analysis of the societal debate also typifies this Master’s programme.

Objective of the programme

This Master’s will enable you to develop yourself into an academic professional. You will learn to analyse, evaluate and solve practical problems in a theoretical and empirical way.

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